The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Perspective on Tissue-Based Technologies for Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Discovery and Application

Abstract

With immuno-oncology becoming the standard of care for a variety of cancers, identifying biomarkers that reliably classify patient response, resistance, or toxicity becomes the next critical barrier towards improving care. Multi-parametric, multi-omics, and computational platforms generating an unprecedented depth of data are poised to usher in the discovery of increasingly robust biomarkers for enhanced patient selection and personalized treatment approaches. Deciding which developing technologies to implement in clinical settings ultimately, applied either alone or in combination, relies on weighing pros and cons, from minimizing patient sampling to maximizing data outputs, and assessing reproducibility and representativeness of findings, while lessening data fragmentation towards harmonization. These factors are all assessed while taking into consideration the shortest turnaround time. The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Biomarkers Committee convened to identify important advances in biomarker technologies and to address advances in biomarker discovery using multiplexed immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, their coupling to single cell transcriptomics, along with mass spectrometry-based quantitative and spatially resolved proteomics imaging technologies. We summarize key metrics obtained, ease of interpretation, limitations and dependencies, technical improvements, and outward comparisons of these technologies. By highlighting the most interesting recent data contributed by these technologies, and by providing ways to improve their outputs, we hope to guide correlative research directions and assist in their evolution towards becoming clinically useful in IO.